The Department of the Interior’s (DOI) latest oil and gas lease sale brought in nearly $1 billion bonus bids and broke all previous records, the DOI announced Thursday.
The DOI sold 142 leases in New Mexico and brought in more revenue in two days than the all of the oil and gas lease sales in 2017 combined. Revenue totaled $972,483,619.50 and roughly half of that will be reinvested in New Mexico’s roads and public services, such as education.
“Critics of the Administration’s American Energy Dominance policy often falsely claim there is little to no interest in Federal oil and gas leases. Today they are eating their words and once again President Trump’s policies are bearing fruit for the American people,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement.
A 1,240-acre parcel in southeastern New Mexico set the record for the highest per-acre bid at $81,889 per acre. The single parcel brought in more than $101.5 million in revenue.
On “bonus bids,” companies pay a one-time premium to secure exclusive access and rights to develop an area for oil and gas for at least a decade. The lease will extend as long as the area remains in use producing oil.
Bonus bids are used by experts to gauge companies’ long-term confidence in particular areas.
The Trump administration is continuing to push the president’s “energy dominance” agenda that includes rolling back regulation and opening more federal land and waters to potential development. The DOI held the largest oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history in March, offering 77 million acres in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The sale brought in $139 million worth of bids. (RELATED: Trump’s DOI Releases The Results Of The Largest Oil Lease Sale In US History)
Recent sales of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico have produced somewhat stale results and caused some to question whether oil and gas companies were interested in investing in more long-term oil and gas development.
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